OS X Yosemite: Set up parental controls

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Set up parental controls

As a parent, you want your kids to have a safe and happy experience on the Mac. Using Parental Controls preferences, you can manage, monitor, and control the time your kids spend on the Mac, the websites they visit, and the people they chat with.

Turn on parental controls

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

Select a user, then click Enable Parental Controls.

If the user isn’t in the list, click Add , then fill in the name, account, and password information to create a new user.

Set restrictions

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

Select a user, then click one of the tabs along the top.

Apps: Specify which apps the child can access. If you allow the child to access the App Store, you can specify a permitted app rating so the child only sees age-appropriate apps. You can also set up a simplified Finder for an inexperienced user.

Web: Limit access to websites, or allow unrestricted access.

People: Restrict a child’s contact with other people through Game Center, Mail, and Messages.

Time Limits: Set time limits for weekdays, weekends, and bedtime.

Other: Hide profanity in the dictionary and other sources, and block using the built-in camera, Dictation, burning CDs and DVDs, or changing the password or printer settings.

Manage parental controls from another Mac

After you set restrictions for a child using a Mac, you can manage parental controls from a different Mac. Both computers must be on the same network.

On the Mac the child uses, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

Don’t select the child’s account at this time.

Select “Manage parental controls from another computer.”

On the Mac that will manage the child’s computer, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

Select the user to be managed.

You can now change the child’s parental controls settings and monitor the activity logs.

Reuse parental controls settings

You can copy a user’s parental controls settings and apply them to another user.

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.

Select the user whose settings you want to copy.

Click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Copy Settings.

Select the user to whom you want to apply the copied settings.

Click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Paste Settings.

Turn off parental controls

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Parental Controls.

Note: When you open Parental Controls preferences, if you see the message “There are no user accounts to manage,” see Add a managed user.

Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.